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Where they go?

New to the site , New to Bee keeping . New to everything.

Got my Bees Monday, But due to Storms didnt get em installed till last night .
They were flying around all over the place today. went out to check the feeders a bit ago and one hive is almost empty, just a few workers hanging around. the other is looking fine
Did one of the hives swarm on me? why about 20 bees left behind?

Re: Where they go?

Assuming you installed a package of bees, NO, they didn't swarm on you. They may have absconded (left the hive for some reason). How did you install them? How are you feeding them? It is hard to tell what happened without more details. Sorry you lost your bees!

Re: Where they go?

These package bees were pretty much yanked out of their previous "home" and stuffed into a box with a "stranger" for a Queen. Then they get dumped into another box (your hive) which is another strange place with strange smells etc., and they know that's not really their "home" either.
Was the Queen still there? I was always told that one of the reasons for the Queen being kept in her cage for 3 or 4 days before release is that the colony won't abscond without her, and after a few days their smell is in the hive enough that they're very likely to stay put because by then they think it's their "home".
I am guessing that the bees you found still in there had been out foraging when the rest of the colony took off, and don't know where else to go.

Re: Where they go?

Originally Posted by olevet

Lemongrass oil? where ya get it?

There are several old timers around Not sure of any clubs But will check

Not worried about the money just wanted 2 hives .. Thanks

There is one in Jenny Lind, Arkansas Look under Oklahoma Bee associations and you can see them all. Looking at the map, you look close to this one in Jenny Lind, Ark. Their site is listed with someone to contact for info